question has definitions from the fields of grammar,linguistics
1
[ noun ] an instance of questioning

Examples

"there was a question about my training" "we made inquiries of all those who were present"

Used in print

(Bern Dibner, "Oerstad and the Discovery of Electro...)

From Go ^ ttingen ( 1801 ) where he stayed for 10 days , he wrote , `` The first question asked everywhere is about galvanism .

(John R. Sargent, "Where To Aim Your Planning for Bigger...)

If companies will take the time to give objective consideration to their major problems and to the questions they provoke , then a long constructive step will have been taken toward more effective marketing in next decade .

(Harold Rosenberg, "The Trial and Eichmann"...)

These questions touch the root of confusion in the prosecution 's case .

The real question was how one passed from anti-Semitism of_this sort to murder , and the answer to this question is not to be found in anti-Semitism itself .

(James Boylan, "Mutinity"...)

These questions have remained one of the great sea mysteries of_all_time .

2
[ noun ] the subject matter at issue

Synonyms

head

Examples

"the question of disease merits serious discussion" "under the head of minor Roman poets"

Used in print

(The Dallas Morning News,...)

`` But I believe if people were better informed on this question , most_of them would oppose it also .

(Schubert Ogden, Christ Without Myth....)

To do this , it is sufficient to point_out that if the principle in_terms_of which alternatives are to be conceived is such_as to exclude more_than two , then the question of a `` third '' possibility is a meaningless question .

To do this , it is sufficient to point_out that if the principle in_terms_of which alternatives are to be conceived is such_as to exclude more_than two , then the question of a `` third '' possibility is a meaningless question .

(Edward Austin Walton, "On Education for the Interior...)

It is in the quality of the teaching of all this that a question may arise .

Beyond any question of curriculum and approach to subject must be the quality of the teachers themselves .

3
[ verb ] challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of

Examples

"We must question your judgment in this matter"

Used in print

(Edward Austin Walton, "On Education for the Interior...)

Yet nobody will question the necessity of all this and any reputable interior_designer does know all this and does practice it .

(LeRoy Fothergill, "Biological Warfare", in Peter...)

Some of those who question the value of BW have assumed that the only potential would be in the establishment of epidemics .

(David Stacton, The Judges of the Secret Court....)

No_one would question such an errand .

(Robert L. Duncan, The Voice of Strangers....)

He would have_to work without questioning the motives which made him work and content himself with the thought that the eventual victory , however it was brought_about , would be sweet indeed .

(Octavia Waldo, A Cup of the Sun....)

It had not questioned why .

Related terms

challenge suspect doubt

4
[ verb ] pose a series of questions to

Synonyms

interrogate

Examples

"The suspect was questioned by the police" "We questioned the survivor about the details of the explosion"

Used in print

(Gerald Green, The Heartless Light....)

While she was thus engaged , McFeeley questioned her about her whereabouts the previous day , any recollections she had of people hanging_around , of overcurious delivery_boys or repairmen , of strange cars cruising the neighborhood .

Related terms

ask interrogation

5
[ noun ] (grammar,linguistics) a sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply

Examples

"he asked a direct question" "he had trouble phrasing his interrogations"

Used in print

(Kenneth Allsop, The Bootleggers and Their Era...)

There was a question and answer gag that went_around at that time : Q. `` Who 'll carry the Forty-second and Forty-third wards '' ?

(Dan McLachlan, Jr., "Communication Networks and...)

As a word of caution , we should be aware that in actual practice no message is purely one of the four types , question , command , statement , or exclamation .

This sentence would have most_of the characteristics of a question , but it has some of the characteristics of a statement because the questioner has conveyed the fact that he has no faith in his own timepiece or the one attached to his car .

If the man on the sidewalk is surprised at this question , it has served as an exclamation .

Also , since the man questioned feels a strong compulsion to answer ( and thereby avoid the consequences of being thought queer ) the question has assumed some measurable properties of a command .

6
[ noun ] uncertainty about the truth or factuality of existence of something

Examples

"the dubiousness of his claim" "there is no question about the validity of the enterprise"

Used in print

(Jay C. Harris and John R. Van Wazer, "Detergent...)

Although there is no question but that the process of washing fabrics involves a number of phenomena which are related together in an extremely complicated way and that these phenomena and their interrelations are not well understood at the present , this section attempts to present briefly an up-to-date picture of the physical_chemistry of washing either fabrics or hard surfaces .

(J. F. Vedder, "Micrometeorites", in Francis S. J...)

The velocity value used is also open_to some question ; if a substantial fraction of the dust is orbiting about the Earth , only about one_third the above_mentioned average velocity should be used in deriving the mass .

Related terms

uncertainty wonder

7
[ verb ] pose a question

Synonyms

query

Used in print

(William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)

A teenage girl , Abigail_Williams , is being sharply questioned by her minister uncle , the Reverend_Samuel_Parris , about a wild night affair in the woods in which she and some other girls had seemed to have had contact with these evil beings .

(Edward P. Lawton, "Northern Liberals and Southern...)

When I question them as_to what they mean by concepts like liberty and democracy , I find that they fall_into two categories : the simpler ones who have simply accepted the shibboleths of their faith without analysis ; and the intelligent , cynical ones who scornfully reply that these things do n't count any_more in the world of to-day .

8
[ verb ] conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting

Synonyms

interview

Used in print

(Evan Esar, Humorous English; a guide to comic ,...)

Similarly , when a reporter once questioned Lincoln in cryptic fashion , Lincoln refused to make any further statement .

Related terms

converse interviewer

9
[ verb ] place in doubt or express doubtful speculation;

Synonyms

wonder

Examples

"I wonder whether this was the right thing to do" "she wondered whether it would snow tonight"

Used in print

(Robert Wallace, "This Is the Way It Came About"...)

The honor of the Belgians in_this matter is not to be questioned - only their judgment .

(Newark Evening News...)

The subcommittee is not alone in questioning the effectiveness of the department .

Related terms

chew_over scruple doubt

10
[ noun ] a formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote

Synonyms

motion

Examples

"he made a motion to adjourn" "she called for the question"

Related terms

proposal

11
[ noun ] an informal reference to a marriage proposal

Examples

"he was ready to pop the question"

Related terms

marriage_proposal

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